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Tape art installation goes up on Brooks Museum

Two Providence, Rhode Island artists install a mural piece called "Tape Art" at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park. The pair were inspired by Memphis trees and artist Carroll Cloar.

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May 10, 2017 - Michael Townsend, 46, operates a boom lift as he and fellow artist Leah Smith, 25, install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on Wednesday. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawings done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design." The exhibit, which started its process on Monday, May 8, will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art.(Photo: Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)Buy Photo

Two Providence, Rhode Island, artists are installing a mural called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park.

Michael Townsend, 46, and Leah Smith, 25, who are members of the Tape Art Crew, are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar following a trip to the museum last year.

"Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years and is the founder of Tape Art. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawing's done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design."

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May 10, 2017 - Michael Townsend, 46, operates a boom lift as he and fellow artist Leah Smith, 25, install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on Wednesday. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawings done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design." The exhibit, which started its process on Monday, May 8, will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

May 10, 2017 - Artists Leah Smith, 25, and Michael Townsend, 46, install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on Wednesday. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawings done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design." The exhibit, which started its process on Monday, May 8, will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

Project manager Laurel Sucsy, left, and Memphis College of Art grad student Amy Lynne Hofstetter, second from left, look at work by Leah Smith, center, and fellow artist Michael Townsend, right, as they install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on May 10, 2017. Yalonda M. James / The Commercial Appeal

May 10, 2017 - Michael Townsend, 46, and fellow artist Leah Smith, 25, install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on Wednesday. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawings done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design." The exhibit, which started its process on Monday, May 8, will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

May 10, 2017 - Michael Townsend, 46, and fellow artist Leah Smith, 25, install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on Wednesday. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawings done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design." The exhibit, which started its process on Monday, May 8, will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

May 10, 2017 - Artists Leah Smith, 25, and Michael Townsend, 46, install mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park on Wednesday. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Carroll Cloar is a master of trees. He has an absolute love affair with detail," said Townsend, who's been taping for 27 years. "If you look at his work, it's compulsive; every blade of grass; every leaf on the tree. So when this drawings done, we're hoping it will be sort of like a good tribute to his love of that type of design." The exhibit, which started its process on Monday, May 8, will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

May 10, 2017 - Michael Townsend, 46, and fellow artist Leah Smith, 25, have been installing mural art called "Tape Art" to the exterior wall of the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Overton Park since Monday, May 8. The Providence, Rhode Island artists are using picto tape to create an image of figures in trees that was inspired by trees in Memphis and from the art of painter Carroll Cloar. "Every drawing we've done, even with lines that thin, we've hand-ripped all of that tape and that takes a lot of time," Townsend said. "We knew there would be a lot of nature, that means a lot of grass and a lot of hair because each one of these figures is going to have hair that goes from the tree limb all the way down to the ground. So that's a lot of thin tape." The exhibit will be displayed until Wednesday, May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process. An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday, May 13 from 12 -1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on Wednesday, May 24 from 4 -7 p.m. The celebration will include artmaking, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and popsicles. For more information, please visit www.brooksmuseum.org/brooks-outside-tape-art. Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

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According to the website, www.tapeart.com, the Tape Art movement began in 1989 in Rhode Island "in the form of large-scale, collaborative drawings created in public spaces." Over the last 28 years, the group has produced "over 500 public works and thousands of smaller drawings in locations around the globe."

"We realized before we came here, that we've got a precious window to do a nice mural here in Memphis and we wanted to make sure all our time was spent making the drawing, not preparing for it," Townsend said.

The exhibit, which started its process on Monday will be displayed until May 24. The public is invited to visit the art piece in process.

An upcoming Tape Art event will include the U.S. Fleet Forces Band on the museum plaza, in celebration of Navy Week Memphis, on Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. Folks are also welcome to participate in the "tape down" of the mural during a Party on the Plaza on May 24 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The celebration will include art activities, games, food trucks, music by DJ Waht, drinks and ice pops.